18 EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP / OCTOBER 2017independent of effort, attitude, methods used. If thestudent presentation was not entertaining, infor-mative, or persuasive, then even if other skills wereevident, the work did not achieve the desired result(Wiggins & Mc Tighe, 2011). Too often rubricsmeasure only what is easily assessed and not whattruly matters or is valued.n Assessment can drive improved instruction. Whensurveyed, 75 percent of 8th grade teachers statedthat the Global Challenge influenced the way theytaught and assessed during the year. Teachersreported that, as a result, they now provide moreopportunities for students to:

• apply their learning to new and complex
problems and open-ended scenarios;

• engage in research, including critical appraisal
of information;

• collaborate with different students throughout
the year;

• analyze and interpret data; construct explanations; and develop arguments from evidence; and

• communicate to diverse audiences using varied
media.

District-level Results

West Windsor-Plainsboro has been formally
collecting student performance data on the Global
Challenge for the past six years. 2 The data indicate
that there has been a steady increase over time in
the quality of student problem solving, collaboration, and communication skills. Another trend
has been the increased convergence between how
the students self-assess their skill proficiency as
compared to their teacher’s perceptions, demonstrating a greater shared understanding of these skill
performance indicators and expectations. Moreover,
teacher surveys between 2013 and 2017 confirm
that students have become much more capable of
complex problem solving.

Rather than only measuring individual and teamperformances, the results from the Global Chal-lenge also serve as an annual “physical exam”for checking the relative “health” of the district’ssuccess in meeting its mission. The district relieson this data to inform program offerings, cur-riculum writing, and assessment development. Forexample, it has worked to develop common lan-guage for K– 12 mission-related skills, embeddedcomplex problem-solving opportunities into theK– 12 curriculum, allowed greater access to tech-nology (including a 1: 1 device program startingin 5th grade and extending into high school), anddesigned common assessments that measure bothcontent knowledge and 21st-century skills.

Transfer by Design

In a rapidly changing, information-rich world, it
makes sense for a contemporary education to
prepare students to transfer their learning to confront unpredictable challenges and opportunities.
However, as Wiggins reminds us, “Transfer doesn’t
just happen as a result of a typical regimen of
teaching and testing, no matter how rigorous the
course of study. Transfer happens only when we
aggressively teach and test for understandings that
are applied in new situations” (Wiggins, 2010).
Designing and implementing transfer tasks and
assessing student performance on them is the only
way to ensure that students are prepared to apply
their knowledge to the rigors and challenges that
await them in higher education, in the workforce,
and in their lives. The Global Challenge engages
students in real-world problem solving to measure
the district’s efficacy in developing these skills—
yielding real solutions, by design. EL

1View the task sheets, resources, and rubrics for
each project option at http://markwise8.wixsite.com/
globalchallenge/projectresources.

Mark Wise ( mark.wise@ww-p.org) is the supervisor
for curriculum and instruction at West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District in New Jersey.
Follow him on Twitter @wisemancometh. Jay
Mc Tighe ( jay@mctighe-associates.com) is an education writer and consultant who co-authored the
Understanding by Design series with Grant Wiggins.
Follow him on Twitter @jaymctighe or visit his website
at jaymctighe.com.